William C. McCool, (born Sept. 23, 1961, San Diego, Calif.—died Feb. 1, 2003, over Texas) American astronaut who , was pilot of the space shuttle Columbia. McCool was educated at the U.S. Naval Academy; he earned a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Maryland in 1985 and another in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1992. He became a pilot for the U.S. Navy in 1986 and was chosen for the astronaut program in 1996.

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American astronaut, the first American woman to travel into outer space. Only two other women preceded her: Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982), both from the former Soviet Union. Ride showed great early promise as a tennis player, but she eventually gave up her plans to play professionally and attended Stanford University, where...

American astronaut who, was the payload commander and a mission specialist on the space shuttle Columbia. Anderson was educated at the University of Washington and at Creighton University, Omaha, Neb., where he earned a master’s degree in physics. In 1991–95 he served in the U.S. Air Force as an instructor pilot and tactical officer, and in 1998 he...

American astronaut who, was a mission specialist and flight surgeon on the space shuttle Columbia. Clark was educated at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she earned a doctorate in medicine in 1987. In the U.S. Navy she served as a diving medical officer and headed a submarine squadron medical SEAL unit before becoming a flight surgeon;...